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Monday, April 30, 2012

Beach Cottage Beauty

Good Morning!

I am so EXCITED to be nearing completion on some of my big projects! Including a redo of this 8' picnic-style table for our back porch!

The back porch has truly been a work in progress, almost 4 years in the making - actually 9 if you count the work we did ourselves before we decided to double down and hire someone for the infrastructure! Perhaps I will give you a glimpse into that transformation soon. But for now, I am happy to say that we have moved on to the fun part - decorating!!

Of course with 5 children and 1 income, this requires doing things on the cheap {grin}. Luckily, I am NOT scared of a little paint and elbow grease!

Since we covered the porch last Spring, I have been in the market for a wooden table and chairs to replace the all-weather furniture that has been living outside. Ya know, spruce up the space since things are now protected from the elements. I needed it to be long enough to hold my whole family - which swells to 8 when you include my angel (mother-in-law) - which we always do!! Anyhoo, I found this 'diamond in the rough' in Round Top (if you haven't been, what are you waiting for?!?!?), along with a 7' primitive bench to go along one side.

Perfect!!

Despite the artistry, which is not my cup of tea but obviously something someone put some time and effort into so props for that, I knew that I would be sanding down the top and repainting the rest to mimic this inspiration piece (also at Round Top), which wasn't long enough AND was three times the price!!

My table isn't antique like the inspiration piece (LOVE, LOVE, LOVE those wooden casters) but is well-made from reclaimed wood, so it's solid!

After sanding off the finish on top, I used Minwax Wipe-On stain in walnut to darken the wood and give it some more contrast against my brick. Then I sealed the top with three coats of Wipe-On Poly from Minwax as well. I found both of these products at Home Depot and am really happy with how they went on - much easier than stains I have used in the past.

For the skirt and legs, I decided to give the much-touted Annie Sloan Chalk Paint a whirl to see for myself what all the fuss was about. It was a little tricky painting the skirt, since it's flush with the table top, but the imperfections just make it more appealing to me!! The chalk paint definitely takes some getting used to because it dries very quickly, but I love the way is distresses and the finish is so smooth once it's sanded. However, I'm not crazy about the price, so I might be trying my hand at mixing some of my own too. We'll see!

I've got a set of six chairs from a Spring Break 'Friday Find' that I will be painting and distressing with my mixture of ASCP Pure White and Old White as well, so I plan on getting in some more practice! You can see the chairs in some of the pics - only $30 for all six - SCORE!!